4 things that mattered to our parents…
Innovation has always and is currently moving at a breakneck speed. There is of course, those things that continue to be true and great that remain and weather the gail force winds of change. There is a reason these things remain. And there is a reason that many former “innovations” fall by the wayside. They need to. It’s time. They are not bad, they just aren’t as good anymore.
And yet there are those who are not willing to let go of the past. They are deeply rooted in the meaning that these things once held. They are stuck in the systems that these former “innovations” have created, unable to embrace what is now. Here are FOUR examples (of many) from our Culutre and ONE Question that each of us must wrestle with.
The Encyclopedia.
A brilliant breakthrough of the Modern Era. Knowledge for the masses! Everyone can own…26 Giant Books with Tiny Print. We had a set in our house growing up – grossly outdated and too expensive and complicated to update, they became fantastic door stoppers and forts for my G.I. Joes.
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The Phonebook.
Eclipsing the wisdom of a centralized Operator, now anyone could find a litany of phone numbers for 24 hour plumbers. They represent a centralized collection of localized limitedness that had to be updated every year with a new 18 pound 1384 page waste of paper. Not sustainable.
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The Home Phone.
The Cordless Phone simply was not enough to save the icon of a bygone era of simplicity and boundaries. ”Call me sometime…when I’m home…not on another call…and am willing to stand still long enough for our conversation.”
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The Newspaper.
An inky papery connection to the world around you…that the editors saw fit to represent. The world continues to move too fast, too far, and too wide for this iconic connection to the Greatest Generation. While the Newspaper may not die, it most certainly will not thrive in it’s current atomic state.
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Right or Wrong. Good or Bad. These are FOUR things that matter(ed) to our parents. But they simply DON’T to us anymore. They have been replaced by innovation that itself will be replaced in a matter of time.
The Question is – WHAT IS YOUR CHURCH STILL DOING THAT MATTERED TO OUR PARENTS, BUT SIMPLY DOES NOT MATTER TO THE WORLD WE CURRENTLY LIVE IN?
What are we still holding on to because of it’s unorthodox and uncritical “history” and meaning to us? What is it that we are still doing because we are too entrenched in the systems we’ve created around it? AND…WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?
Jim Beaird
Great blog! I am a part of the generation to which these things once mattered. I am one of those parents that has seen the transition from bulky to streamline, heavy to light, large to small, etc. You asked a great question about what the church is doing that mattered to my generation but is no longer relevant to today's fast-paced and technical society. You realize . . . that opens a can of worms! Thanks for having the insight to ask it!!
Jan 11, 2010 @ 8:23 pm
Dion Evans
Wow… That is a great and interesting way to think about those things. Time changes with such speed. Like the old hymn said “Time is filled with swift transition. None on earth unmoved can stand.”
Jan 11, 2010 @ 10:04 pm